A La Carte (3/10)

  • Tim Challies
  • 03/10/08
  • 2
Monday March 10, 2008 Colson Continues to Defend ECT
R. Scott Clark has a good discussion about Church Colson's answer to my question about ecumenism (as part of Colson's recent blog tour).
The Vow
The Washington Post has a really nice story dealing with Dave Kendall, a man who has committed his life to caring for his disabled wife.
Plastic Bags--the Global Villain
The Times shows how plastic bags became a global villain through bad research and pure fabrication.
Together 4 the Madness
Jesse Phillips is putting together a Together for the Gospel March Madness bracket...for those who care about such things!

Comments (2)

1
Anonymous's picture
a comment from Jim Vellenga • 03/10 @ 11:03am
› visit my web site.

With all the discussion about banning plastic bags going around recently I kept asking the question, why are plastic bags bad? No one actually answers that, they simply assume they are because . . . well . . . they are plastic.

It reminded me of how the environmentalists lobbied to have McDonald's switch from the foam containers they put their large burgers in, to the current paper ones. The claim was it was more friendly to the environment and would prevent the landfills from filling up with non-biodegradable containers.

Sounds good until one finds out that much of the waste foam containers were being recycled into useful things like park benches and light posts. The paper containers that are currently used, on the other hand, all end up in . . . you guessed it, the landfill.

2
Anonymous's picture
a comment from Karen in Wichita • 03/10 @ 11:29am
› visit my web site.

I have to admit, I quit using plastic bags as much as possible slightly before it became trendy (woo! I'm bleeding edge!) but for reasons other than the (over?)hyped ones.

One, the durn things breed like bunnies or coat hangers - never mind the landfill, they'll overfill my trash can/recycle bin. (Our local grocery is really guilty of one-bag-per-iteming and often double-bagging that one item. Nothing like buying five pounds of potatoes, in a plastic bag, and getting them double-bagged by themselves.)

Two, I may keep mine under control, but not everyone does (and even if they do, accidental escapees add up), and "Arkansas Tumbleweeds" aren't pretty. We don't have many sea turtles 'round these parts to mistake them for jellyfish, but still.

Three, once I started using big canvas totes, I wondered why I ever put up with the pure annoyance of plastic bags. I have totes that can carry thirty or forty pounds each, and in the unlikely event I actually fill them that full, they have straps long enough to loop over my shoulders. No silly plastic handles cutting into my hands or breaking unexpectedly, no hand cramps from hauling too many too-heavy bags, and no bags getting punctured by a box corner and dumping my groceries out.

My biggest concern about exaggerated claims is that it may backlash: it's sensible on many levels to cut back our overconsumption (especially when it's pointless consumption that doesn't actually improve our lives, like plastic bags), but if people feel like they're being duped into it they may resist on those grounds.